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He left SMC in ’95 with a reputation as one of the best presenters in the business, so he started Coughter &Company.His clients include the following advertising agencies: Wieden Kennedy, Hill Holliday, Boone Oakley, Butler ShineStern, Cramer-Krasselt, Crispin Porter Bogusky, DDB, Dentsu, Fallon, Goodby Silverstein, BBDO, GSD&M,JWT, Leo Burnett, McKinney, Publicis, Sanders/Wingo, TAXI, The Martin Agency, Y&R, and many others. Healso works with professionals in healthcare, insurance, architecture, and the law.He has been a Professor at the VCU Brandcenter since 1997.Coughter started his Presentation Skills Workshops because he believes that all great ideas deserve a chance tolive. He was recently called “the preeminent trainer of presentation skills for the advertising industry.” Whetheryou think that’s true or not is up to you.His book, The Art of the Pitch, was published in January of 2012.Chris De Santis is an Independent Consultant specializing in the design and deliveryof Management and Organization Development interventions. He assists individualsor groups in identifying obstacles to effectiveness and subsequently works with them tocreate user-friendly solutions aligned with the company’s strategic initiatives. He brings withhim 30 years of experience in training and development; graduate degrees in OrganizationDevelopment and Marketing; and work experience in manufacturing, service, and notfor-profit environments. He has an undergraduate degree in Business from the Universityof Notre Dame, an M.B.A. from the University of Denver and an M.A. in OrganizationDevelopment from Loyola University.De Santis has done training and instructional design work with service organizations such as Accenture, AbbottLabs, and Ernst & Young. He has been the Director of Training and Development for the American MedicalAssociation, and he was part of the Human Resource Development group for Brunswick Corporation, a leaderin the manufacture of leisure products. He has worked as an independent practitioner for the past 18 years. Hehas done management and executive development course design, implementation, and facilitation, as well as thedelivery and evaluation of training initiatives. He has numerous vendor certifications and he has performed bothneeds assessments and the subsequent course deliveries to address those needs.He has special expertise in dealing with generational differences in the workplace and gender socialization atwork. De Santis also has expertise in applying the principles of Emotional Intelligence to leading, mentoring,and the application of a variety of instrumentation including multi-rater feedback to develop and enhanceperformance, and how to develop and leverage long-term relationships in the selling process. He also teaches andhas a depth of knowledge in facilitation, listening, and presentation skills developed through his work experiencesand background in theater games.5

Yvette V. Gatling is a Shareholder at Littler Mendelson P.C. and she practices in the areaof employment and labor law litigation and consultation, representing clients in a broadrange of matters. She has specific experience with claims that arise under Title VII, The AgeDiscrimination in Employment Act, The Americans with Disabilities Act, The Family andMedical Leave Act, and The Fair Labor Standards Act.She also litigates claims of race, sex, age, national origin, and disability discrimination;Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) retaliation; sexual harassment; andequal pay for corporate defendants. She practices in state and federal courts and before the Equal EmploymentOpportunity Commission and the Department of Labor. She handles National Labor Relations Act mattersincluding union-free campaigns and elections.Additionally, Gatling assists clients with wrongful discharge matters, union avoidance, reductions-in-force, andcompliance audits, including wage and hour audits. She frequently works with oil, gas, and financial servicescompanies.Previously, Gatling served as law clerk to the Honorable Tucker L. Melançon, United States District Judge for theWestern District of Louisiana. In law school, she served as a Senior Editor of the Louisiana Law Review.Gatling is a member of the American Bar Association, the Houston Bar Association, and the Houston LawyersAssociation. She is a former board member of Houston Community Voicemail. Gatling earned her J.D. fromLouisiana State University, where she was a member of the Order of the Coif. She earned her B.A. from NorthCarolina State University. Gatling has been admitted to the State Bar of Texas, as well as the U.S. Court ofAppeals, Fifth Circuit, and various U.S. District Courts (Northern District of Texas, Eastern District of Texas,Southern District of Texas, and Western District of Texas).Kirkland L. Hicks, Vice President, General Counsel, and Secretary, is responsible for alllegal matters at Towers Watson. He was appointed to his current position in November2012.Prior to his current appointment, Hicks served as Managing Counsel for commercial legalactivities for Towers Watson’s Americas region. In that role, he had responsibility for mergersand acquisitions, commercial operations, and corporate transactions across North and LatinAmerica.Previously, he served as Senior Counsel and Head of Commercial Law at Watson Wyatt Worldwide, Inc., withworldwide responsibility for mergers and acquisitions, commercial operations, and corporate transactions. Prior toworking at Watson Wyatt, Hicks was an attorney with major law firms. He has a J.D. from Duke University Schoolof Law, where he serves on the Board of Visitors, and a B.S. in Computer Science from North Carolina A&TState University. Hicks has also completed an executive leadership program at Harvard Business School. He is amember of the Conference Board Council of Chief Legal Officers and the Leadership Council on LegalDiversity; the bars of District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia (corporate counsel); and the AmericanCorporate Counsel Association.6

Robert V. “Bob” Jewell is the Managing Partner of Andrews Kurth LLP, as well as Chairof the Executive Committee, a member of the Policy and Diversity committees, andCo-Chair of the Women’s Initiative Team. Jewell’s principal areas of practice are mergersand acquisitions (both domestic and foreign), corporate governance, and capital marketstransactions. With more than 30 years of practice, Jewell has particular experiencerelating to the energy services industry, the refining industry, master limited partnerships,real estate investment trusts, the forest products industry, and representing specialcommittees of boards of directors.Jewell is a recognized champion of diversity and inclusion. As Managing Partner, he supports diversity andinclusion as core values of the firm. He is a member of the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity and hasreceived numerous awards for his support of diversity and inclusion efforts: Diversity Leader Award given tothe firm in 2013 based upon his feature article, From My Perspective as a White Male, a Champion of Diversityrecognition from the Texas Diversity Council in 2011, and a CEO Diversity Leadership Award from Diversity BestPractices in 2008. At the firm, Jewell led the development of the firm’s strategic business plan which incorporatesseveral diversity and inclusion components.He received his J.D. from Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law, where he was Editor of theSouthwestern Law Journal, and his B.B.A. in Finance from The University of Texas.Lori L. Lorenzo is the proud mom of four kids: Amanda, 12; Mark, 9; Kyle, 6; andEthan, 4. In her role with the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity (LCLD), she isresponsible for supporting LCLD’s efforts to promote diversity and inclusion amongMember organizations, developing and managing LCLD’s strategic programs, andpromoting understanding of legal diversity issues generally.Lorenzo has published several articles and she is a frequent speaker on diversity withorganizations including the American Bar Association, the National Association for LawPlacement (NALP), and the Association for Legal Administrators. Lorenzo is the Chair of the Diversity andInclusion Section of NALP, and a Diversity Fellow with the American Bar Association, Law Practice ManagementSection. She recently spearheaded the development of the first Safe Space Training program for law schools andlegal employers in collaboration with the National LGBT Bar Association and the National Center for LesbianRights.Lorenzo received her B.A. with honors from the University of Florida and her J.D. from Duke University Schoolof Law. Before joining LCLD, Lorenzo practiced in structured finance and securitization, owned a martial artscompany, and spent several years managing diversity initiatives for law schools.John Mitchell is a lawyer and a leader. He is committed to helping lawyers discover andmaximize their leadership potential so that they continuously develop themselves and theirorganizations in pursuit of changing the world. Mitchell specializes in working with lawyerswho are in formal roles like general counsel, managing partner, practice group leaders, andcommittee chairs; and those in informal leadership roles. He also supports in-house lawyerstransitioning to business roles, junior associates, new partners, major rainmakers, and seniorlawyers considering their “second season” in life.7

Helping leaders transition to new leadership positions is one area of Mitchell’s expertise. He also hasextensive experience assisting women and attorneys of color in successfully applying their talents in new roles andenvironments. Mitchell’s unique background brings personal experience to these types of transitions and hiseducational experiences ground those firsthand experiences with sound theory and applied research.During the past three years, Mitchell has coached and/or consulted with hundreds of lawyers and dozens of lawfirms throughout the United States and Canada. This work has included everything from teaching inexperiencedattorneys (and some later bloomers) business development skills to helping senior rainmakers take their gameup another notch or two; from helping to develop new leaders to creating a process for successful successionplanning and transition of senior leaders; and from leading firm retreats to advising management committees ona variety of strategic issues.Mitchell’s 20 plus years of business experience includes working as a professional in a social service agency,practicing law in a large international law firm, leading a large urban affiliate of an internationally known not-forprofit housing development organization, and starting a successful company that helps leaders develop and honetheir own unique leadership style. He also has extensive leadership experience serving on various not-for-profitboards of directors, and in civic and professional organizations. His experience is supplemented by his educationalpursuits at Northwestern University, which include a B.S. in Communications, a J.D. from the School of Law, andan M.B.A. from the J.L. Kellogg School of Management.Emily A. Parker is the Managing Partner of Thompson & Knight LLP. She representstaxpayers in IRS audits and appeals proceedings, state tax audits and hearings, andfederal and state tax refund and deficiency litigation. She also advises on federal income taxand Texas tax planning, with expertise in taxation of natural resources and partnership andcorporate transactions involving the petroleum industry. Parker has represented clients in anumber of precedent-setting cases that decided important industry issues and developedpreviously unsettled issues of tax law.She is hailed as a “terrific tax litigator who is practical, effective, and can communicate with a broad range ofpeople” according to clients quoted by Chambers USA.Parker was previously Acting Chief Counsel and Deputy Chief Counsel for the IRS. She is Board Certified in TaxLaw by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization.Parker has received numerous honors and distinctions, including recognition in The Best Lawyers in America for Tax Law, Litigation & Controversy-Tax (1983-present), and Dallas Lawyer of the Year in Tax, Litigation &Controversy-Tax (2010 and 2012); as well as Chambers USA for Tax and Tax Litigation (2006-present); andOutstanding Texas Tax Lawyer by the State Bar of Texas Tax Section (2012). She has as also been repeatedlyrecognized in Texas Super Lawyers , with such honors as Top-Notch Lawyer in Tax Law (2007), a Top 100 OverallLawyer (2013), a Top 50 Female Attorney in Texas (2008-present), and a Top 100 Dallas/Fort Worth RegionLawyer (2008-2011 and 2013). Parker has also been named to each of the following D Magazine “Best Lawyer”lists: Best Personal Tax Lawyers in Dallas (2009), Best Tax Litigation Lawyers in Dallas (2001, 2005, 2007-2008,2011, and 2013), Best Business Tax Lawyers in Dallas (2009), and Best Women Lawyers in Dallas (2010). Shewas also a member of the Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law Distinguished Alumni forGovernment Service (2007-2008).Parker is a Fellow of the American College of Tax Counsel, as well as the Dallas Bar Foundation, the Texas8

Bar Foundation, and the American Bar Foundation. She is also a member of the American Bar Association,where she served as Chair of the Section of Taxation, and was a member of the Natural Resources Committee(1989-1991). She also served as Vice Chair of the Appointments to Tax Court Committee (2000-2001). Parkeris also a past member of the Dallas Bar Association, where she was Chair of the Tax Section (1981-1982). Shewas a member of the State Bar of Texas and itsTaxation Section Council (1985-1987), and Chair of the NaturalResources Committee (1982-1983). Parker was also Adjunct Instructor on Partnership Taxation at SouthernMethodist University School of Law (1984-1986), and Chair of the Southwestern Legal Foundation Institute onOil & Gas Taxation (1987-1989).Parker earned her J.D., with honors, from the Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law, where shewas a member of the Order of the Coif, The Barristers, and Leading Articles Editor of the Southwestern LawJournal. She earned her B.A., with highest honors, from Stephen F. Austin State University, where she was amember of the Alpha Chi scholastic honorary fraternity.Parker has been admitted to the Texas Bar; Texas Supreme Court; various U.S. Courts of Appeals (Federal Circuit,Third Circuit, Fifth Circuit, and Tenth Circuit); U.S. Court of Federal Claims; various U.S. District Courts (N.District Texas, S. District Texas, W. District Texas, and Wyoming); U.S. Supreme Court; and U.S. Tax Court.Gary L. Sasso has served as President and CEO of Carlton Fields (now Carlton FieldsJorden Burt) since February 2006. Before that, he led the firm’s Litigation departmentand served on the firm’s Board and Executive Committee. Carlton Fields Jorden Burt has370 lawyers and government consultants with offices in major markets in Florida, Atlanta,Washington, D.C., New York, and Hartford.Sasso received his undergraduate degree in Economics from the Wharton Schooland earned his law degree from the University of Pennsylvania Law School, where hegraduated first in his law school class and served as Editor-in-Chief of the University of Pennsylvania LawReview. Following graduation, he clerked for Judge Spottswood W. Robinson, III, on the United States Courtof Appeals for the D.C. Circuit and then for Justice Byron R. White on the United States Supreme Court. Hepracticed as a litigator in Washington, D.C., until moving back home to Florida to join Carlton Fields in 1987.Sasso is active in many civic and professional organizations. He has served as Chair of the United Way for theTampa Bay region, Chair of the Tampa Bay Partnership, Chair of the Strategic Advisory Task Force for the StrazCenter for the Performing Arts, and Chair of the United Way’s Tocqueville Society. He was Editor-in-Chief ofthe ABA’s Litigation journal, and he is a Fellow in the International Academy of Trial Lawyers and the AmericanAcademy of Appellate Lawyers. He serves on the boards of the Leadership Counsel on Legal Diversity and theAmerican Law Institute. Last year he was named by Super Lawyers as one of the Top 10 Lawyers in Florida, he wasnamed Appellate Lawyer of the Year by Best Lawyers, and he was included in Florida Trend’s “Hall of Fame.” Hewas born in Miami, Florida, and lives in Tampa, Florida, with his wife, Karen, where they have raised three daughters.9

Dimple Desai Shah is a Partner with Bowman and Brooke LLP in their Dallas office. Sherepresents large and mid-size corporate entities in the pharmaceutical, medical device,nutraceutical, manufacturing, healthcare, and commercial industries. Her work includesa broad range of complex litigation issues, including product liability, risk management,commercial/contractual disputes, negligence, premises liability, licensing, and regulatoryissues. She serves as Texas Litigation Counsel for a large nutritional supplements manufacturerand several medical device companies.Shah has represented pharmaceutical companies in mass tort litigation involving their products, including dietdrugs, antidepressants, smoking cessation drugs, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, contraceptives, and nervepain medications, among others. She serves as National Managing Counsel on a discovery project in a litigationinvolving more than 7,000 cases.Shah graduated from the University of Texas with degrees in Government and as a member of the Plan II HonorsProgram. She obtained her J.D. from the University of Texas School of Law in 1999. She has been listed as aRising Star by Texas Super Lawyers magazine six times. Outside of her work, Shah keeps busy with her husbandand two amazing and energetic young boys (ages 4 and 5). She serves as a mentor for law school bound collegestudents and is a member of the Greater Dallas Indo-American Chamber of Commerce. Shah was a 2012 Fellowof the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity.Bruce E.L.M. Strothers was named Managing Counsel of The Coca-Cola Company’sjuice beverage business in the Houston, Texas, area in early 2013, having joined the companyin early 2007. Currently, Strothers is responsible for all legal matters concerning the world’slargest juice company by volume, whose brands include Hi-C , Odwalla , and two distinctbillion dollar brands, Minute Maid and Simply Beverages , across domestic and internationalmarkets. Previously, Strothers served as Corporate Ethics & Compliance Counsel basedout of Atlanta, where he handled anti-corruption mat

Dinner: Dine-Arounds Transportation to Dine-Arounds will leave the lobby beginning at 6:00 pm and ending at 7:00 pm. Transportation back to the Four Seasons will leave from the Rosewood Crescent Hotel at 10:00 pm sharp. Dine-Arounds are at the Fellows' expense. 1:00 - 1:15 pm Cottonwood Ballroom 1:15 - 5:00 pm Cottonwood Ballroom Break: 3:45 .